Frank Schuster (music patron)

Frank Schuster (24 September 1852 – 26 December 1927), was a British music-lover and patron of the arts. His home overlooking St James's Park at 22 Old Queen Street, London, part of which now contains offices of The Spectator magazine, became a meeting-place for artists, writers and musicians, including Siegfried Sassoon, John Singer Sargent, Walter Sickert, Sir Edward Elgar and Sir Adrian Boult. He was a particular patron of Edward Elgar, and also did much to make Gabriel Fauré's name known in England.

Leo Francis Howard Schuster was born at 151 King's Road, Brighton and baptised at St John's parish church, Penge, Surrey, on 19 November 1852. He was the only son of Mary née Howard, Norfolk-born second wife of Leo Schuster, a German-born London banker and long a naturalised citizen. He had two half-siblings from his father's first marriage.

He was educated at Eton College and was homosexual as were many of his friends. Like Siegfried Sassoon, Schuster was of Jewish descent. In 1924, knowing that Sassoon was suffering from depression, Schuster made him the gift of his first car. He also allowed Sassoon to stay at his popular country retreat, "The Hut", opposite Monkey Island at Bray-on-Thames, but the two were never lovers.

Schuster also had many heterosexual friends. He was a close friend and travelling companion of composer Edward Elgar, and helped foster Elgar's popularity in the years leading up to World War I. It was at "The Hut" that Elgar partially wrote his First Symphony, Violin Concerto and the symphonic study Falstaff. Elgar dedicated his concert-overture "In the South (Alassio)", completed in 1904, to Schuster. Schuster was highly involved in organising the three-day Elgar Festival at Covent Garden in 1904, which was an unprecedented tribute to a living composer.Adrian Boult and Edward Elgar first met at Schuster's house in 1905.

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